Interview with Yves Klein Blue

Out in North Hollywood, three of the four members of Yves Klein Blue are tortured by a restless sleep. Melodies are churning through their dreams like skipping records as they toss and turn.

Meanwhile, a dim yellow light creeps down the apartment hallway, spilling out from the bathroom door. In this tiled haven, a glassy-eyed Michael Tomlinson stares at a crumpled pad of paper covered in a soup of potential lyrics. Things were supposed to be a little bit easier, but this was just an average night for Yves Klein Blue as they recorded their debut album Ragged & Ecstatic.

When Michael hopped on the phone to speak with FL, the whole process had faded into an exhausting daze. Ragged & Ecstatic was no longer the subject of creative toil, but a complete work. Inspired by the seminal member of ‘the beat generation’, Jack Kerouac, the album captures the spontaneous ecstasy of every experience; from the beautiful to the gritty and confronting.

"Ragged & Ecstatic, the name, really hit home because it describes the recording process. When we got to the record studio we thought we had it all worked out. Now we feel exceptionally proud of the record. We didn’t really think that we had something of this kind of level in us. There are times in this record that we wonder if it was really us.”

Over the last few years the excitement surrounding this unique four-piece has reached fever pitch. To avoid their name would require burning all street press that crosses your path, disconnecting the internet and punching your computer screen. Interestingly enough, Brisbane’s finest did pretty much that as they embarked upon writing and recording their hotly anticipated debut. “It was a hugely comforting process. We just started searching every element of it. Between the studio and our apartment the songs just went around in our heads all hours of the morning.”

When listening to Ragged & Ecstatic, it’s hard to ignore the carefully crafted lyrics. “Lyrically the inspiration has come from people around me always. What they’re saying, what they’re not saying. There are certainly a few songs that are based on acoustic guitar. We wanted to push the lyrics to the fore, so we could emphasize what was meant.”

A great deal of the excitement that surrounds Yves Klein Blue is the result of a thirst for something different. Ragged & Ecstatic is rich with ideas and diverse subject matter, driven by raw experience. “I think the focus is intensity of emotional reflection. Digital Love is about meth-amphetamine; we play that with a lot of aggression. We try not to play anything without emotion. The whole album is not necessarily positive.

“If there was a theme throughout the record it is about living in the period of time from when I was 18 to when I was 22. That’s a time when I wasn’t really sure what my purpose was in the world and I also felt kind of frustrated with people around me. There were things that would infuriate me but no one else would notice. It is very easy to not feel anything intensely. It is easier to ignore problems. I was kind of coming from a theme of self determination or apathy or hope. I was very conscious of trying not to speak on anyone’s behalf and trying to present my own take. I’m more concerned with finding the right answer than convincing people that I’m right. I try not to preach.”

After a short two week break, Yves Klein Blue now have to switch hats from composers to performers. They are about to begin a tour of the nation to celebrate their album release.

“Looking back, it had been really non-stop. It doesn’t really seem like that much hard work because we really enjoy what we are doing. People get jobs in law firms and work their asses off, so we consider ourselves lucky. We are very pleased to be on the Splendour bill again and we are very keen to go overseas again. We have been incredibly fortunate with the support we have received from people. It is people that will decide if we tour for the next two years. It’s no longer entirely up to us.”

Ragged & Ecstatic is out Friday 26 June through Dew Process/UMA. Yves Klein Blue begin their national album tour this week, winding up at Byron Bay for Splendour In The Grass.

Published @ www.fasterlouder.com.au
Link: http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/19045/Yves-Klein-Blue.htm

Interview with The Whitest Boy Alive

One has to feel for the rock star stuck in a chair, taking call after call from eager interviewers scouring for that one unique quote. Keeping this in mind, once I finally managed to get in contact with Daniel Nentwig from The Whitest Boy Alive, I thanked him repeatedly for his time.

My articulated sympathies, however, had a somewhat undesirable affect. I started to lose Daniel as he gazed out of his window onto a sunny spring morning in Germany. Awkward pauses ensued as the acquiescent keyboardist blamed himself for agreeing to a two-hour slog of interviews on a public holiday.

Knowing all too well the decision I would make if faced with a choice between a leisurely sleep in or an interview with me, the topic was quickly changed. After all a lot has to be unpacked when considering the contradictions The Whitest Boy Alive represent. Are they a dance-oriented electro outfit or chilled-out pop group? When we go to see them live should we expect guys tweaking synthesisers or a traditional jam session? Is there some hidden meaning behind the name The Whitest Boy Alive or is it pretty literal? Sunbaking by the North Sea is a bit seasonal, after all.

Despite his eagerness to join those directly outside his house, Daniel was verbose and somewhat reluctant to deal in straight and simple answers. When discussing the band’s slightly bizarre name, I was told to think of a comic character that lives in a north European town. The Whitest Boy Alive’s debut album Dreams was an exploration of this fictitious creation’s dreams and aspirations. Their latest release Rules is about our friend discovering clubs and live music in the big smoke.

A sense of parental satisfaction comes beaming down the phone line as Daniel mulls over the band’s second album. “I think that the music gives every person the chance to find his or her own approach.” Daniel explains. “The art work with its black and white clear lines is open to interpretation. The music gives space to sing along with your own melodies. Use your imagination.”

Openness to interpretation truly defines The Whitest Boy Alive. Each track of Rules is so stripped-back, notes only appear when they desperately need to. It’s almost hard to believe how a band made up of such practiced musicians can produce music so radically simple. Perhaps a national history steeped in industrial efficiency seeped into their subconscious.
In its infancy The Whitest Boy Alive consisted of Erlend Øye and Marcin Oz hammering out tracks on their personal computer. But soon the tedium of performing live in this manner wore thin, so Erlend enlisted the minds of Sebastian Maschat and Daniel to pick up where the electrons left off.

“It was like musicians replacing sequencers. We can always change and interact with each other. A computer can never come up with its own ideas. It’s difficult to tell a machine what to do exactly. If you have a bass player you can talk to him and discuss things. It’s also easier to play live. It’s very free. We can do what we want. We have tracks and a fixed arrangement, but we can improvise and jam when we want.”

Now The Whitest Boy Alive proudly introduces itself as a band without any programmed elements. Writing new material is just a matter of following Erlend’s lead and keeping it simple.
“Lots of the times Erlend comes up with a melody and some chords and then all of the other musicians have to tell what he is playing. Everybody has to look out for their own place in the music. Then I help Erlend to harmonise. Of course with the synthesizers it’s less about chords or melodies it’s more about effects and the energy that comes from the sound on the synth. Going a bit crazy and moving away from handmade music and disco sound and then back to the disco band again. There can never be too little because this music is so minimalistic.”

There can never be too little music? It’s not something you hear very often from a musician. The picture that first popped into my mind was of a four-piece whispering away in the corner of a hotel bar. However, those lucky enough to see the Whitest Boy Alive at Nevereverland last year know better. Daniel and his Teutonic compatriots are all too conscious of amping things up for their live show, whilst maintaining the gentle accessibility of their music for all to enjoy.

“We don’t want to hit people in the face; we want people to come closer and to discover. If you come to a live show this music become punchy and edgy. It leaves space for the instruments. Every instrument on stage has to limit itself to a musical frequency range. The music leaves space for each single one’s projections and grooves.”

While Daniel rushes out to enjoy the sunshine, make sure you check out the Whitest Boy Alive’s Rules out now on Pod through Inertia.

Published @ http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/
http://www.inthemix.com.au/
Link: http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/18709/Whitest-Boy-Alive.htm
http://www.inthemix.com.au/features/43010/Whitest_Boy_Alive_Pining_for_the_sunshine

Interview with Astronomy Class

Cue Johann Strauss as we leisurely float past hoards of glistening stars occasionally interrupted by a hurtling meteor looping around a lumbering, complacent planet. Limbs weightless and body out of control, you’re probably wondering why we’re out here, floating through the cosmos, exposed to the unknown and possibly under the watchful eye of some distant, intelligent life. “If you haven’t heard already.” A garbled voice informs us over a two way radio. “2009 is the year of Astronomy and you’ve come to meet Ozi Batla, spaceman, rapper and voice of Hip Hop outfit Astronomy Class.”

Ozi is referring to the second installment of the Astronomy Class saga. Titled, Pursuit of Happiness, it’s a stripped back, raw example of unadulterated Aussie Hip Hop. “We obviously wanted to approach it differently to the last album and make it something unique. We wanted to make it a bit more punchy and immediately accessible. A lot of the songs are pretty short and there is no excess fat on there. There were probably three of four tracks that were really good tracks that we didn’t include on the album.”

Currently Ozi resides in outer space relentlessly performing a harrowing routine of altitude training in preparation for Astronomy Class’ upcoming tour. “We’ve been hitting the rehearsal studio and obviously had a few drinks, trying to replicate game day. It’s really coming along. A lot of the new tunes I think will replicate really well live. So yeah we are just looking forward to getting back out there. It’s been a while.”

This year Astronomy Class is teaming up with fellow Reggae aficionados, Thundamentals, for a nationwide tour. There is little issue, however, made over the fact that these two bands come from competing labels. As the dust begins to settle around the shooting of up and coming American rapper, Dolla, I scratch the back of my helmet and ask why the Australian Hip Hop scene upholds such a friendly and supportive culture.


“I think it’s probably something to do with the Australian mentality. But the main thing is that most of the key people involved all came up together and are aware that it was a lot harder to get stuff out there and get people along to shows a few years ago. Every release that came out was another building block in a way so I don’t think that the main people involved in the labels have forgotten that. Before people had any kind of success everyone was working together and playing together.”

Ozi briefly pauses our conversation to float off to the cockpit and check on his ships orbit. It’s the perfect time to take a look around. There are screens everywhere streaming sci-fi classics like Aliens and Brazil, while X-men comics bump into my side as they hover around the room. A certain source of inspiration is plain to see.

I ask how the name Astronomy Class came about. Ozi yells from the cockpit. “It just came about because of the themes that we coming about on the first album with a few of the first tracks that I wrote. Midnight At The Observatory and also Brink Of War and Exist Strategy. There is a sci-fi theme there and I am a pretty big sci-fi fan. We kept on the sci-fi theme with War Of The Worlds and a few other tracks that are on this album as well. There is a sort of Hip Hop tradition and a Reggae tradition as well of that kind of outer space theme. We just were drawing on that as inspiration.”

Aside from a love for extraterrestrials and space opera the most noticeable theme on the album is the plethora of collaborative works. Artists from The Tongue to Ash Grunwald all feature, adding their own unique vocal spice. This diversity of musical influences and creativity generates a surprising new direction for Astronomy Class.

Unfortunately the stars did not align for every collaboration planed in Pursuit of Happiness. A combination of miscommunication and a lack of commitment led to one major international artist pulling out. “We were kind of glad that it [the collaboration] did not happen.” Ozi reflects. “We just thought if it was going to be that hard and that person was going to be that difficult to get in touch with their obviously their heart isn’t totally in the project.”

As we strap ourselves in for re-entry I realise that I might not be cut out for space travel. There’s a violent jolt forwards as we go into free fall, hurtling back to Earth at incalculable speeds. The whole time Ozi is beaming. Enjoying the futuristic jaunt perhaps a little to much. So I ask a man obviously obsessed with progress and evolution what he wants to see in the future of Hip Hop. His answer: retrograde.

“The RnB, Hip Hop major label stuff it’s just soulless. It’s just become so throw away. Maybe someday people will get rid of auto tune and the same mix sounds and it could go back to beats made on SP12s and people rapping on 58s. Who knows it might go back to that raw grimey sound.”

Check out Astronomy Class's new album Pursuit Of Happiness out now on Elefant Traks through Inertia and be sure to catch the boys when they play Come Together on Sat June 6th.

Published @ www.musicfeeds.com.au 22nd Issue.

Interview with Matt & Kim (Music Feeds)

This is a revised version of my Matt & Kim article published in the 21st Issue of Music Feeds
www.musicfeeds.com.au

Years ago Brooklyn made the small transition from a giant crime sceneto a trendy hipster jungle. It washere that two lost arts students wereasked to headline a party with instruments theycouldn’t play and songs they hadn’t written.

Moving ahead a few years the duo previously known as Kim & Matt, yet now known as Matt & Kim, are eagerly greeted by over-enthusiastic fans insisting they were the sound of their NewYork summer. Currently touring the world in celebration of the release of their sophomore album, Grand, I got Matt Johnson on the phone to find outwhat's happening in poptastic duo’s world.

When we spoke Matt had just stepped off his flight to Australia, a bit tender from a recentback injury. After a quick crack of a vertebraehere and a pop of the spinal column there, we began by discussing the Brooklyn arts and music scene, the nursing grounds where the band was born and raised.

“I think it was somewhere where we just founda lot of inspiration, and not just the musicscene,” says Matt.“At first I felt kinda lost, as in unsure ofwhere I belonged. I grew up in Vermont andwas schooled in New York and didn't knowwhat my place was until I stumbled upon the Brooklyn’s DIY music scene. This is whereI felt at home. People around me were doing rad shit. People working in film, art and photography, it inspires you to do more.”

From there Matt & Kim hit the net in search of a fan-base. After they began documenting their gigs and personal lives on a variety of social networking sites, more and more New Yorkers started showing up to their gigs. Infact Matt & Kim are a band that can attribute their international popularity almost entirely to online media written and supplied bythemselves.

“It worked out great because we got to do everything how we wanted to do it. We just always did what we always did and we controlled everything. We banked on word of mouth for so long and when people get to choose themselves they feel more connected. On the other handpeople also get upset when you put your song ina TV commercial because they felt it was their thing. Music is very personal.”

After using the “quick, that’s good enough,move along” philosophy for their debut record, Matt wanted things to change for Grand. This time the album had to be well rounded and slick.

“We were looking forward to writing and fleshing out this album. It was such a pain inthe ass. We had set aside six weeks to work on it and after that time it still wasn't done. We were working in between tours non stop to get it finished in the end. Even though people sayt hat albums are dead and people just download songs or put them on shuffle or whatever it was really important to us to create an album that stood on its own as a piece of music as opposedto just a collection of songs.”

Matt & Kim don't really sound the way you’d expect considering they emerged from the Brooklyn underground. Having risen to prominence in a scene that for so long has been overrun by a postmodern malaise,where does all of this chirpy music comefrom?

“Writing songs is two different things.” Matt explains. “There’s writing a beat and melody and writing lyrics. We just write music from what we are inspired by without any preconceived notion of what we want the song to be. The lyrics are a different thing. When we were doing Grand we would figure out everything and start off using free word association until it formed with a personal meaning in a more abstract way.”

The band’s creative use of keyboards to produce a variety of differing sounds is what fuels their unique take on pop, ensuring each of their songs bear the pair’s vibrant andunique sonic signature. “When we started, Matt & Kim was gonna be whatever Matt and Kim played. Keyboards give a certain freedom. You can write similar songs on different instruments but for instance using the same chord progression on a keyboard rather than a guitar gives it a new life.”

As an album, Grand makes pop cool againwithout making you feel like you sold yoursoul to Billy Ray Cyrus. Songs such as Daylight, with their minimalist melodies and happy go lucky lyrics, are certain to make you cancel your repeat of Prozac and hi-five the guy that just spilt beer all over your nerd-chic blazer.

Grand is now out through Popfenzy so have a listen and make sure that if you see them around you yell out “Hey! Matt & Kim!” now that we are on a first name basis and all.

Interview with Matt & Kim

After a successful jamming session in Brooklyn two close friends were invited to play at a gig held in one of the area’s many empty spaces sporting make shift stages. Their response: “we have no band, we have no songs and we have no name.” But these shortfalls didn’t seem to worry anyone, least of all the event organiser. Word of mouth quickly spread about a gig that lineup comprised of a new band no one had ever heard of before. The band’s name was Kim & Matt.

Moving ahead a few years plenty things have changed. Their name’s, for one, have been rearranged (so they look better graphically) to Matt & Kim. Their anonymity is also fading fast. As they walk down the streets of New York people yell out “hey Matt, hey Kim” and neither of them are ever sure whether they are people they should recognise or enthusiastic fans.

When I spoke to Matt he had just stepped off the plane and is a bit tender from a recent back injury which resulted in the cancellation of number of shows back home. After a quick crack and pop of vertebrate we discussed the band’s localised origins. Matt and Kim’s humble name are a result of humble beginnings that are very closely linked to the creative community both artists found in Brooklyn. “I think it was somewhere that we just found a lot of inspiration and not just the music scene,” says Matt. “At first I felt kinda lost as in where I belonged. I grew up in Vermont and was schooled in New York and didn’t know what my place was until I stumbled upon the Brooklyn’s DIY music scene with people playing in warehouses and lofts. This is where we felt at home. People around us are doing rad shit. People working in film, art and photography and it inspires you to do more.”


From there Matt & Kim hit the net in search of a fan-base. As they documented their gigs and personal lives on a variety of social networking sites, more and more New Yorkers starting showing up to their gigs. In fact Matt and Kim are a band that can attribute their international popularity almost entirely to online media written and supplied by themselves. “It worked out great cos we got to do everything how we wanted to do it. We just always did what we always did and we controlled everything. We banked on word of mouth for so long and when people get to choose themselves they feel more connected. On the other hand people also get upset when you put your song in a TV commercial because they felt it was their thing. Music is very personal.”

Moving right along to 2009 Matt & Kim are struggling with the schizophrenic desire to progress and evolve musically while still keeping the essence of two friends jamming together in Brooklyn. With their latest album, Grand, the pair wanted to create a far more complete and polished product compared with their first, self titled record. “We were looking forward to writing and fleshing out this album. It was such a pain in the ass. We had set aside six weeks to work on it. After that time it was not done. We would work in-between tours non stop. Even though people say that albums are dead and people just down load songs or put them on shuffle it was really important to us to create an album that was a full piece.”

Grand is a real feel good album that just won’t stop playing in your head long after you’ve switched off your stereo. Songs such as Daylight with its delicate keyboard riffs and happy go lucky lyrics are certain to make you smile and fall in love with this amazingly talented band. So where does all of this chirpy music come from? “Writing songs is two different things” Matt explains “there’s writing a beat and melody and writing lyrics. We just write music from what we are inspired by without any preconceived notion of what we want the song to be. The lyrics are a different thing. When we were doing Grand we would figure out everything and start off using free word association until it formed with a personal meaning in a more abstract way.”

This simple formula, however, doesn’t mean there is any danger of a hundred Matt and Kim’s popping up around the world. The band’s unique take on pop is fueled by the creative use of keyboards to produce a variety of differing sounds that bear the pair’s vibrant signature. “When we started, Matt and Kim was gonna be whatever Matt and Kim played. Keyboards give a certain freedom. You can write similar songs on different instruments. Using the same cord progression on a keyboard rather than a guitar gives it a new life.”

In their live show Matt and Kim’s individual streak continues. For those with tickets to the band’s Australian tour a great night awaits them. “When those places in Brooklyn started getting full and we moved to other venues and clubs we were worried we would lose that party vibe. So when we go to a new venue we make the playlist for the entire night and give it to the DJs or hand pick the other bands playing. It’s important to us that we make the night still have that energy. We also have a couple of cover interludes going for that party vibe.”

Just make sure that if you see them around you yell out “Hey Matt & Kim!” now that we are all on a first name basis.

Published @ www.fasterlouder.com.au
Link: http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/18235/Hanging-out-with-Matt--Kim.htm

Essential Festival @ Oxford Art Factory & Exchange Hotel

So here I am again walking in through the entrance of Q Bar. I’m ascending the scraggy and forlorn steps trying to convince myself I wasn’t a little out of breath after the climb. But it’s all very different. The sun is shining through the windows on the faces of band members unpacking their instruments. The clubbing crowd is missing, tucked away along with the turntables and DJ booths. CD cases have been replaced by guitars and amps. On the elevated dancefloor now stands a stage.

The brain child of promoter Select Music, Essential Festival spans the Exchange Hotel complex with stages in Qbar, Spectrum and the Oxford Art Factory. If you were prepared to weave around people in a fire escape, one ticket bought you a giant three-storey iPod. Forget skipping that track or making a play list. Set it on shuffle, finish off your drink and check out what the next bar has to offer. There were no light shows, shufflers or chatter boxes choking on their gum in the corner (an environment that can be fun sometimes…sometimes). Instead at every stage stood a crowd transfixed around an up-and-coming Australian band trying to make a mark, build a following and have some of fun.

Before endlessly planning out who I should see, I decided to wander as I pleased, confident that I would stumble on something that would take my fancy. There on the stage at Qbar, clad in the very un-rock ‘n’ roll ensemble of black suit jacket and buttoned shirt stood Shaun Mitchell, the frontman of Perth band December Seven. They, like so many bands coming out of Perth, were well rehearsed and flawless but lacking in a unique sound.

That kind of Sydneysider pretentious criticism led me to wander the three storey music collection in search of someone trying hard to be new. Within minutes it turned out I didn’t have to try very hard at all. I walked into the back of crowd packed densely against the wall, keeping a safe distance from the harmless musicians up ahead. Traps, a band from Sydney as it turns out, didn’t stand up to any truly unique ideology. However, they pulled an ever-growing group of onlookers to join the rest of those dwelling against the venue’s boundaries. It was indie rock, plain and simple. It was gelled together by forceful vocals and wailing guitars, but it felt new. Even though I had a horde of talented headliners to go, Traps had already made the afternoon worthwhile.

Following the same theme as before, my feet dragged me further down into the Oxford Art Factory’s uber-trendy depths. There I found a much more populated venue, with an audience gently tapping their feet along to Tennis. These ‘80s pop/rock revivalists oozed cool, from their pointed leather shoes to their matching fringe haircuts. It’s not uncommon to find a synth or midi console in rock bands these days, but soulful vibrato vocals and an endless pool of energy separated the band from the stereotypes. Essential Festival is, after all, about the music and performance.

Which leads me from a satisfying set from Tennis to the outrageous and memorable presence of Young & Restless. Having my back turned to the stage trying to find a place to leave my empties kept me oblivious to their speedy and silent entrance. Just as a delayed applause began to pick up, rocking geisha Karina Utomo was screaming into the mic. Dropping my ill-fated plastic schooner, I turned to find a band almost inanimate: except for its frontwoman moving about the stage like a darting moth. Light as a feather went to thick and heavy, as Young & Restless changed the tone of the festival for an exhilarating half hour. Utomo leapt onto outstretched hands and talked the crowd into a timid circle of death, while the rest of the band proved their worth with tight and punchy performance.

At this point there was a break, dinner run, breath of fresh air and another visit to the bar. By this time, I was back in Qbar on a passing recommendation, leaving the packed-out Oxford Art Factory below. There I found the Atrocities, clad in flannel and black cowboy hats. Things got even heavier. It was like a ho-down with a death metal theme: music as thick and as stark as mud pressed down on the audience’s shoulders.

Back in Oxford Art Factory, Dappled Cities punched balloons around the stage in front of a club at full capacity. Despite playing out of their skin, Essential Festival had already been a complete success. There were no subjects for complaint, an awesome venue and an appreciative crowd. Entertained by the blue orbs floating around the ceiling, we all watched on, assured that Australian music (parts of it at least) is in safe hands.

Published @ www.fasterlouder.com.au
Link: http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/events/18194/Essential-Festival--Oxford-Art-Factory-and-Exchange-Hotel-Sydney-250409.htm

Children Collide @ The Annandale Hotel

Prying my foot from the sticky floor, I looked around the interior of the Annandale Hotel – a diminutive but popular venue nestled against the eternally busy Parramatta Road. The stage was crowded with light, leads, pedals and amps being tweaked by a hunched sound engineer crammed against the far wall.

Once I dislodged my foot from the dried alcohol on the floor and started to walk around, I noticed another interesting aspect of the layout. The pokies (despite still being around) were removed far enough away from the music not to bother anyone. Why can’t all venues in Sydney be like this one?

The Annandale’s charm may well be why its events are always so popular. It’s a venue for music and nothing else. On this muggy Friday night, Children Collide were visiting with their upbeat, punchy sound that was sure to send the small pub into a frenzy.

But first the three-piece Border Thieves lulled the milling crowd from the adjoining rooms. Dedicating their set to the pirates off the coast of Kenya (for “having a go”) the band filled the room with a soulful twist on indie. Sounding like a mixture of Sonic Youth and The Stone Roses, Border Thieves were engaging yet derivative. The event photographers had their work cut out for them as singer/guitarist Kat Harley and bassist Joel Werner battled their instruments and posed like stadium rock stars.

As Border Thieves retreated in search of a stolen beer, the crowd buzzed in anticipation. Conversations about managing to get tickets to the sold-out event were the hot topic. The chattering was broken short by the arrival of Regular John, sporting long hair and matching emaciated frames. At first the onslaught of rock ‘n’ roll captured everyone’s attention. The songs Language and We Spell Love… were so energetic and powerful they ignited a flurry of bobbing heads and fists punching the air. However, as the set continued, Regular John’s repetitive set-list cleared the room somewhat, as they lost the interest of a distracted audience. For all of their talent, the band’s full-throttle party sound slowly wore thin.

It was well and truly Children Collide’s night. The venue reached capacity while adoring fans continued to stream in. As a brief sound check was performed behind a lowered projector screen, screams of excitement filled the air as soon as any head revealed itself. Wedged between sweaty bodies, I easily forgot all of my discomforts as the white barrier was raised and We Are Amphibious burst my eardrums. It was only possible to see brief glimpses of the stage whilst yelling “it was so long, so long ago” amongst the manic throng. The crowd’s sheer enthusiasm shocked frontman Johnny Mackay into a broad smile that he couldn’t wipe from his face for the entire gig. With the announcement of every song from Across the Earth to Marie Marie, Pt. 2 it was near impossible to hear any music over the ecstatic cheering.

Every ounce of praise was well deserved. Children Collide are born performers, working the stage with an unchallenged energy and intensity. Fans leapt along with Johnny as he pummeled his guitar back and worth, head slung low around his knees. Bassist Heath Crawley and drummer Ryan Ceasar added their own flawless and practiced elements to the performance. Even as the comparatively down-tempo Farwell Rocketship came wailing through the speakers, no one could slow down. That was of course until we were all treated to a majestic cover of Walking on the Moon by The Police. Effortlessly making it their own, Children Collide held the crowd in silent awe as Johnny rivaled Sting’s falsetto.

Don’t miss another opportunity to see this band live. The smiles and laughter of the post-show rabble that spilled out onto Parramatta Road was testament to Children Collide’s awesome ability and talent. This was an unforgettable gig.

Published @ www.fasterlouder.com.au
Link: http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/events/18062/Children-Collide--The-Annandale-Hotel-170409.htm